Month: February 2018

We all have been given our own special cauldrons. Some, and most of them deep black in colour. Some with plastic stickers or green leaves and flowers or as blue as the ocean. All different yet the same.

We are all given our cauldrons to create ourselves as soon as we are born. Who we are. What makes us us. There are different perspectives as to whether the cauldron is empty when we get it, if we follow the psychodynamic and behaviorist perspective of behavior i.e that we enter this world with a clean state and our behavior and personality is due to learning and experiences.

But it could be contain a bit of potion if we inherit traits from our parents and their parents and those before them. According to scientific study, the foundation of a person’s personality is formed in the first five years of his life. After which his personality is difficult to change.

So at the age of a baby, we are playing around making ‘The Potion’, adding 1 cup of innocence, 1/2 cup of arrogance, 3 cups of love and 5 cups of intense sensitivity or emotions. This is an example of the cauldron made by a baby. As he grows till 5, you can check his cauldron and see what he emphasises most in his life. Whether it is innocence, arrogance or sensitivity.

As the child grows into a toddler, a bit before being 5 years old, he becomes aware of his surroundings. He becomes aware of what he can achieve and what he cannot. So he makes adjustment to his cauldrons. He reduces the concentration of intense sensitivity by distilling it out to 2.5 cups equivalent. He adds in more components such as 1 cup of bravery, 2 cups of feistiness, 1/2 cup of kindness, 1/2 cup of respect, 3-4 tablespoons of strong resolve, 2 tablespoons of intellect, 2-3 tablespoons of arrogance, 3 cups of love and 2 cups of passion. And, as is expected….3 cups of adrenaline.

When one is a toddler, the components of the potion are not mixed well so each of the components spring out to express themselves separately On the exterior, it is defined as ‘sudden shifts of mood’. This is explained when a toddler who is initially hyperactive and jolly will suddenly start crying when he does not get what he wants. So the adrenaline component of the potion is subdued and the emotional component is springing out to express itself.

As the toddler reaches the golden teenage years, a few more adjustments are made. Such as 2 cups of bravery, 2 (or 1/4 cup) of respect and kindness, 4 cups of strong resolve, 5 cups of intellect, 6 cups of passion, 6 cups of love and 3 cups of arrogance. The concentration of intense sensitivity is reduced to 1.5 cups equivalent (which includes anxiety and potentially depression). However it doesn’t diminish the intensity of expression of these components. In addition, there are 5 tablespoons of jealousy and 3 tablespoons of tolerance and a dash of desired colour. But all the components of this fine, exotic potion are heated a medium to high heat so all the components interact with each other so each component controls and monitors the other. So one can actually determine the persons character by their behavior as they control which components to express when and where and which to express the most.

If you think about it, these components are quite alot and are very defining of who a person is. But how full do you think the cauldron is? I think its not even half full. It’s much less than that. Because every step you take in and every step life takes towards you, you learn a thing or two. So the adjustments are continuous and ever changing. Even when you are lying in your deathbed, the cauldron could be 3/4 full atmost, since one cannot experience every aspect of life (books can help though 😏) . In some rare cases, something new may be added if the foundation of your potion accepts it. If the novel component doesn’t contaminate its consistency.

But in the end, we are all witches and wizards, continuously working at our cauldrons, making it better than it was a moment ago or better than the potions in others’ cauldrons.

So tell me, the witch or wizard reading this post, what potion are you conjuring?